youth art month

The Council for Art Education (CFAE) administers Youth Art Month at the national level. Festivities take place annually, each March, to celebrate visual arts for grades K-12. The Youth Art Month Program emphasizes the value of art education for all children, encourages support for quality school art programs, and promotes art material safety.

Submit YAM Student Art

"yam flag"

Beattrice
Elk River High School

YOUTH ART MONTH FLAG COMPETITION

This year’s Elementary school winning flag will represent MN at the NAEA Convention in Minneapolis, April 2024. All winning first place flags will be used to promote the AEM Youth Art Month student art show, which will be on display at Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault, MN February 26 - April 6. Each first place prize winner will receive a flag to keep and all winners will receive gift cards for art supplies.

A purple tinted painting of a young woman sleeping on a couch

2023 Flag Winner

Jayden
St. Paul Academy & Summit School

guidelines

  • Submissions due: December 14, 2023
  • Judging will take place the week of December 18th
  • Eligibility:
  • Open to K-12 students with a current AEM member teacher. Each AEM member may submit up to 10 designs.
  • The three grade level categories are:
  • Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8), & High Sschool (9-12)
  • How to submit:
  • Email a high quality image and student release form to [email protected]

Not a member of AEM but want to submit student artwork to the contest? Join AEM today and you can be eligible!

2024 Youth Art Month Theme

"DREAM IN ART"

guidelines

  • Submissions due: February 16, 2024
  • Artwork limits:
  • 2D only, must be mounted on tag or mat board, no frames or glass, no larger than 16” x 20", we will provide labels
  • Current members: Elementary 6 artworks, Middle School 4 artworks, High School 3 artworks
  • Non-Members: 3 student artworks for a $10 fee. Checks should be written to Art Educators of MN with your name and school in the memo and mailed to: Art Educators of Minnesota, C/0 Jeff Pridie, Treasurer, 1736 Southwind Ln, Maplewood MN 55109
A purple tinted painting of a young woman sleeping on a couch

2023 Middle School 3rd Place

Isabel P.
Middle School

guidelines

  • Submissions due: March 10, 2023
  • The show will be on display in the Rotunda at the MN State Capitol March 20 - April 1 with a closing reception on April 1 from 11-1 (The Capitol is closed on Sundays)
  • Artwork limits:
  • 2D only, must be matted, no glass, no larger than 18" x 24", we will provide labels
  • current AEM members: elementary teachers 6 works of art, middle school teachers 4 works of art, high school teachers 3 works of art
  • non-members can submit up to 3 student works total for a $10 fee.

"Forest landscape"

Mae
8th Grade

2023 flag design competition

Students who received 1st place for their flag designs in elementary (k-5), middle level (6-8), and high school (9-12), each will receive a flag to keep. The 1st place HS flag will be sent to the National Art Education Association Convention. All three 1st place designs will be used to promote Youth Art Month through social media and will be on display at the state capitol March 18-April 1.

2022 Winning Flag Designs Press Release

2023 Youth Art Month Theme

"Your art, your voice"

2023 YAM winners

This year’s March celebration of Youth Art Month is, Your Art, Your Voice celebrating K-12 art education programming.  YAM was created by the Council for Art Education (CFAE) which administers YAM at the national level. YAM is affiliated with the National Art Education Association and the Art Educators of Minnesota.

The Minnesota Youth Art Month exhibition was on display at the Minnesota State Capitol from March 20th - April 1st. Artworks were submitted from 30 teachers with over 120 student entries. The artwork is juried by a panel of art educators and 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention awards are given for each level-elementary, middle and high school as well as a Best Overall Winner. Winners receive gift cards sponsored by Blick.

best overall

"Eyes On Me"

Viktoryia Kotava

1st Place - Elementary

Enoch Thein

2nd Place - Elementary

Lydia Coburn

3rd Place - Elementary

Catherine Piehl

Honorable Mention

Nolan Goldammer

1st Place - Middle

Gwendolyn Uhlhorn

2nd Place - middle

Grace Charpentier

3rd Place - middle

Isabel Pariseau

honorable mention

Lila Montgomery

1st Place - high

Breanna Bernardson

2nd place - high

Julia Harms

3rd place - high

Catrielle Barnett

honorable mention

Haley Gilbert

guidelines

  • Submissions due: March 10, 2023
  • The show will be on display in the Rotunda at the MN State Capitol March 20 - April 1 with a closing reception on April 1 from 11-1 (The Capitol is closed on Sundays)
  • Artwork limits:
  • 2D only, must be matted, no glass, no larger than 18" x 24", we will provide labels
  • current AEM members: elementary teachers 6 works of art, middle school teachers 4 works of art, high school teachers 3 works of art
  • non-members can submit up to 3 student works total for a $10 fee.

"Forest landscape"

Mae
8th Grade

2023 flag design competition

Students who received 1st place for their flag designs in elementary (k-5), middle level (6-8), and high school (9-12), each will receive a flag to keep. The 1st place HS flag will be sent to the National Art Education Association Convention. All three 1st place designs will be used to promote Youth Art Month through social media and will be on display at the state capitol March 18-April 1.

2022 Winning Flag Designs Press Release

2023 Flag design winners

1st place
Elementary

helen agedie

North Park School for Innovation

2nd place
elementary

tegan Flint

Montessori at Franklin

3rd place
elementary

josh erie

Montessori at Franklin

1st place
middle school

jayden Tilton

St. Paul Academy & Summit School

2nd place
middle school

elana broderius

St. Paul Academy & Summit School

3rd place
middle school

luca kempcke

St. Paul Academy & Summit School

1st place
high school

du lam nguyen

ISD 196

2nd place
high school

oliver martin

Forest Lake Community School

3rd place
high school

madeleine Houle

Forest Lake Community School

This flag will be representing Minnesota at the 2023 NAEA Convention in April

View 2022 YAM Exhibit